Electric fences keep bears out of trouble

A sure sign of spring’s arrival in western Montana is the onset of news stories on bears emerging from their dens. Grizzly bears hibernate in their winter dens for four to six months, and by spring, they are hungry. Following their highly sensitive noses, they make their way down into valleys looking for all sorts of tasty and nutritious early-spring greens and the occasional winter-killed deer and elk. Living in bear country during this time of year, you may see a bear — or two or three — wander by in close proximity eating grasses, or just passing through.

Unfortunately, some hungry bears will be tempted into trouble by an available chicken coop or an overflowing garbage can. Bears are quick learners, especially when it comes to food. Once they find a garbage can or birdfeeder that has filled their bellies once, they are likely to remember. Bears that find food near people’s homes and businesses become “food-conditioned,” meaning they begin to prefer and search out food sources generated by people — chickens, fruit trees, birdfeeders, garbage — you name it.

As you can imagine, having bears so close to people’s homes often leads to safety concerns. And in the end, it is bad for the bears too. Wildlife managers often have to remove these bears and occasionally homeowners kill the bears out of concerns for human safety. This dynamic is a major cause of grizzly bear deaths, but also one of the most preventable. A properly installed bear-resistant electric fence around chicken coops, livestock or fruit trees can effectively stop bears from wandering nearby, thereby making the situation safer for people and avoiding unnecessary bear deaths. Bear-resistant garbage containers or storing garbage in a bear-resistant manner can also reduce or eliminate bears’ access to garbage.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks recently released their revised electric fence guide for bears, which gives excellent information about how to install a bear-resistant electric fence around food sources that attract bears. In addition, Defenders of Wildlife has an incentive program that reimburses homeowners up to 50 percent of the costs associated with installing a bear-resistant electric fence with a maximum reimbursement of $500. Defenders has assisted more than 100 residents with fences since 2010, mostly in western Montana.

With a little effort it is possible for both bears and people to live together on this land. Electric fencing allows bears to move through western Montana without coming into conflict and keeps people and their property safe.

Contact Russ Talmo, Field Technician, Defenders of Wildlife, at 406-728-8800 or rtalmo@defenders.org to sign up for the fencing program. Funding for this program is limited, so please call or email us as soon as possible if you are interested.

Erin Edge is a Defenders of Wildlife representative for Rockies and Plains. Erin has worked with communities in western Montana to reduce bear-human conflicts through outreach and proactive projects for more than a decade.